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CHARLESTON -- A motion by the West Virginia Republican Party to intervene in a case that could determine who represents Wayne County in the House of Delegates was approved Friday by the state Supreme Court of Appeals.
J. Zak Ritchie, an attorney for the state Republican Party, filed a motion to intervene in a mandamus lawsuit filed by Wayne County Republican Executive Committee Chairman Jeff Maynard asking the court to require Gov. Jim Justice to choose a delegate for the vacated 19th District House seat in Wayne County from a list of three qualified nominees submitted by the county party.
On Wednesday, Justice appointed Kenova resident Joshua Booth to the seat vacated by Derrick Evans, who resigned Jan. 9 after being charged with allegedly filming himself on Jan. 6 breaking into the U.S. Capitol with hundreds of Trump supporters trying to stop the counting of Electoral College ballots that gave the presidency to Joe Biden.
Booth's name was among three submitted by the West Virginia Republican Party in a Jan. 22 letter, including Mark Ross and Chad Shaffer. But the Wayne County REC submitted names on Jan. 14 that included Ross, Shaffer and Jay Marcum.
According to state code, a political party executive committee has 15 days from the time of a resignation of a House of Delegates member to select three qualified individuals to submit to the governor, who has five days after receiving the list to name one of the three as the replacement. The state Republican Party's filing on Jan. 22 said the Wayne County executive committee failed to follow party bylaws.
"The petition misses entirely the fundamental role played by the party's binding bylaws in what happened in this case," Ritchie wrote. "The bylaws govern the internal affairs of the party and all its committees and officials, including those at the county level..."
According to the state Republican Party bylaws, the state party chairman is supposed to certify a letter with the three qualified individuals along with the county committee chairperson and secretary. That letter is supposed to have the state party's letterhead. The bylaws contemplate involvement of the state party chairman throughout the selection process.
Roman Stauffer became acting chairman of the state Republican Party after the resignation on Jan. 11 of former chairwoman Melody Potter. Ritchie argues if the state Republican Party is not allowed to intervene in the case, any decision would affect the party's bylaws and the process used to fill legislative vacancies.
"If the petitioner prevails in this case, the party's ability to nominate candidates to fill future legislative vacancies under its bylaws will be legally impaired," Ritchie wrote. "Moreover, any disposition of this matter will practically impede the party's ability to properly apply its own bylaws..."
John Bryan, attorney for Wayne County REC Chairman Maynard, released two documents on his website Friday evening showing previous county executive committees - including Wood County - have submitted names in the past for House of Delegates vacancies without a state party letter head or signature by a state party chairperson.
As an example, Bryan pointed to the 2018 appointment of Tom Azinger to fill the unexpired term of 10th District Republican delegate Frank Deem after Deem died. Azinger, Ed Staats, and Matthew Dodrill were named as the three nominees in a letter to Justice on Oct. 23, 2018.
In another example, Bryan cited an email from Stauffer, the former chairman of the Mercer County Republican Executive Committee, after the committee met to replace former Republican delegate Mike Porter in 2010. That email to fellow county committee members did not mention involvement by the state Republican Party.
"During (Stauffer's) time serving in that capacity, guess what happened? A vacancy opened up in his county and he was required to come up with three qualified candidates for the Governor to choose a replacement," Bryan posted on hos blog Friday. "It looks like Mr. Stauffer followed the exact same process that ended up being wrong now in 2021."
Speaking on MetroNews Talkline, Justice's Chief of Staff Brian Abraham said the Governor's Office was confident the letter submitted by the state Republican Party was the legal letter used to choose Booth. Abraham said the second letter was the result of a second meeting that involved the Wayne County REC and the state party.
"We were advised that the Wayne County Republican Executive Committee had not followed the party's bylaws, had not followed the proper procedure for conducting a search to replace delegate Evans," Abraham said. "We were then informed that the state party and the county executive party had reached an agreement to hold a second meeting … they conducted interviews of candidates, then they sent us a subsequent letter."
The state Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case on 2 p.m. Feb. 9. The Legislature returns on Feb.10.
Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com.